APPENDIX D 



The Falkland Islands 



Among the little-known places of the earth that have become important in the world 

 of "news" are the Falkland Islands, a British crown colony lying in the South Atlantic 

 off the South American coast about 300 miles east of the Straits of Magellan. The colony 

 consists of a group of some 100 islands of which East Falkland and West Falkland are 

 the two largest. The smaller islands are mainly rocks and reefs; the two main islands provide 

 pasturage for cattle. 



East Falkland Island has two fine inlets, Berkeley Sound and Port William. Port Louis, 

 formerly the seat of government, is at the head of Berkeley Sound. The little town of 

 Stanley, now the government seat, is in Port William. Next to Stanley in size is the village 

 of Darwin, a village of Scottish shepherds, and the main station of the Falkland Island 

 Company, the principal traders of the islands. The majority of the inhabitants, some 2,000 

 in number, are Scottish and their occupation is mostly given over to sheep raising, wool 

 being the largest export. 



The history of the islands dates back to 1592, when their discovery was first reported. 

 In 1594 Sir Richard Hawkins sighted the islands, and in 1598 Sebold de Wert, a Dutch 

 sailor, named them the Sebold Islands and this name appears on Dutch maps. 



In 1690, Captain Strong visited the islands and named the passage through which he 

 came "Falkland Sound." From this the group of islands took its name. De Bouganville, a 

 Frenchman, took possession and established a colony at Port Louis in 1764, and two years 

 later the islands were ceded to Spain. 



In 1767, Commodore Byron took possession of the islands on the point of prior discovery 

 and formed a settlement at Port Egmont, on the small island of Saunders. They were driven 

 out by the Spaniards, but in 1771 Spain yielded her rights to Great Britain by convention. 



In 1820, Buenos Aires disputed the British right, claiming that Great Britain had lost 

 her right by not colonizing the islands. The dispute was settled in 1833 and since that time 

 the Falkland Islands have been a regular British Colony. 



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